For all the effort the press puts into agonizing over right-wing conspiracy mongers, it would be nice if newsrooms devoted even an ounce of that same energy to worrying about the Left’s conspiracists.
I am talking about the Democratic election truthers. They are loud, they are proud, and they are a hell of a lot more high-profile than social media trolls. What’s more, their lunacy goes basically unchallenged by the same national reporters and commentators who have written nonstop for the last three years about the dangers of right-wing political agitprop.
The latest Democrat to float a baseless conspiracy theory challenging the legitimacy of a major U.S. election is Jimmy Carter, who has yet to make a single worthwhile contribution to American life.
“I think a full investigation would show that [President Trump] didn’t actually win the election in 2016,” the 94-year-old Democrat said Friday at a panel event in Virginia. “He lost the election, and he was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf.”
The moderator sought clarification, asking Carter whether he really believes Trump is an “illegitimate president.”
Carter said with a smile, “Basically, what I said, I can’t retract.”
The crowd laughed.
Unsurprisingly, Carter’s remarks have earned little more than a sniffle from the national press, which was shocked – shocked! – in 2016 when Trump hemmed and hawed when he was asked if he would respect results of the election if he lost.
The lack of reaction from the commentariat this week to Carter’s remarks should not come as a surprise. Remember: Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said basically the same thing in 2017, and the press barely batted an eye.
“I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president,” said the congressman. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected, and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. That’s not right. That’s not fair. That’s not the open democratic process.”
Also, do not forget that failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has been running all around the country since the 2018 midterm elections alleging that she is the legitimate governor of the Peach State. In fact, Abrams is not the only Democrat claiming she was robbed. Elizabeth Warren claimed in April that, “Massive voter suppression prevented Stacey Abrams from becoming the rightful governor of Georgia.”
Even the supposedly cerebral South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg got in on the act in June, telling an audience at the Democratic National Committee’s African American Leadership Summit in Atlanta, “Stacey Abrams ought to be the governor of Georgia.” This is ridiculous.
Few if any in the news media have seen it necessary to challenge these election conspiracies, and now the Abrams-was-robbed schtick is an article of faith in the Democratic Party. But you better believe national newsrooms will find the time to hunt down obscure blue-collar workers, Reddit users, and a woman in Florida who uses Facebook, all in the cause of rooting out the evil of right-wing political agitprop.
Oh well. If nothing else, at least our media are still keeping us safe from dangerous memes.
